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FAIRFAX, Va. - Hate crimes in Virginia surged in 2017 as they were up nearly 50 percent over the previous year, according to new data released by police.
In their annual crime report, Virginia State Police said there were 202 hate crime reported in 2017 compared to 137 in 2016.
The highest number of crimes, 68, were against African-Americans. There were 22 anti-Jewish crimes, 11 anti-White crimes, 10 anti-Hispanic crimes and eight anti-Muslim crimes.
Jeff Dannick, executive director of the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia (JCCNV) said these kind of crimes leave a lasting impact and he is not surprised by the numbers.
The JCCNV was covered with swastikas and Nazi propaganda on the first day of Passover last year. A nearby church was also targeted.
"It seems to me that we have become more and more divided as a country," Dannick said. "More and more, we are in our own corners and in our own factions looking at our friends and neighbors as 'others.' And as much as there is an uptick in that, there is also an uptick in the opposite -- of people coming together. And that is really what we felt a year ago when this happened to us -- is that the community, not just the Jewish community, but the entire community really came to our side and really rallied with us."
It was the same situation after an African-American church was vandalized in Dumfries. The congregation saw an outpouring of support after racist and anti-Semitic vandalism.
In both cases, a suspect was arrested and charged.
While Virginia did see a significant spike in hate crimes in 2017, past data shows that the number of hate crimes was even higher in years prior to 2009, with reports topping 300.